


Call It A Broken Heart

by Atlas_M_33



Series: The Bonds That Tie [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I'm always a slut for forehead touches, If you comment on my stuff be prepared to have me love you forever, Keith (Voltron) Whump, M/M, Shiro (Voltron) Whump, Shiro (Voltron)-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 10:57:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13950126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Atlas_M_33/pseuds/Atlas_M_33
Summary: "When are we going to talk about how it's my fault they replaced your arm?"~~~Shiro's most recently recovered memories cause friction between him and Keith.





	Call It A Broken Heart

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oldmythologies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/oldmythologies/gifts).



> Do you ever get that feeling when you're writing, like you can't wait to post it because there's something there that you really enjoyed, and you can't wait to see if other people enjoy it too? That's how I felt writing this. 
> 
> Dedicated to Oldmythologies, who left some crazy awesome comments on parts one and two that totally made me cry because they were so nice. 
> 
> Here's that scene you wanted babe, and thank you so much for the request. Because this? This was an absolute joy to write.

 

 

 

When Shiro wakes up on the observation deck the morning after Pidge's experiment it takes about ten seconds for his groggy brain to boot up enough to register the rapid questions flooding it over the crick that’s formed in his neck.   
  
_Where? Deck. Why? Fell asleep. Keith?_ _  
__  
__Not here._  
  
It stings for a moment, being left alone, before he remembers Keith's obsession with early morning sparring sessions. Shiro rolls his eyes on principle and drags himself off the odd alien couch to begin the trek towards the odd alien kitchen in search of some odd alien coffee.   
  
He’s not gonna have the energy to find Keith until he has enough caffeine in his system to concern even Pidge.   
  
~~~  
  
When Shiro finally swings by the training room with coffee for two in hand there’s no one there.   
  
~~~  
  
When Keith does show up to breakfast he doesn't even look at Shiro before sitting at the opposite end of the table and silently scarfing down his food.   
  
He bolts out the door five minutes later.   
  
~~~  
  
Shiro's fighting the gladiator when he feels Keith's eyes on his back and sees him watching from the door out of the corner of his eye. He's only been in the room for about an hour, so it's not Keith dragging him off for a break and there aren't any meetings scheduled today as far as he knows. He keeps going, a stray thought dedicated to the hope that Keith’s presence means he’s ready to open up about what's upset him.   
  
A few minutes later he gets his wish.   
  
He's just activated his arm, ready to fish the fight, when Keith speaks. "When are we going to talk about how it's my fault?"   
  
Shiro's stance fumbles and he botches his punch, barely managing to recover it as a decent block before punching his glowing fist through the gladiators neck, watching it burst into a shower of light. It's only then that he turns, wide eyed, to Keith. "What?"  
  
Keith shrugs and repeats himself, curling his shoulders down and wrapping his arms around his stomach the way he does when he's hurting.   
  
"When are we going to talk about how it's my fault they replaced your arm?"  
  
Before Shiro can process what Keith’s just said the alarms are going off. Both of them are bolting for the control deck, and Shiro can only hope that he’ll be able to track Keith down later.   
  
~~~  
  
The skirmish is over in less than twenty minutes, the two Galra cruisers hilariously outgunned.   
  
Back at the Castle Shiro climbs out of the Black Lion just in time to see Keith leaving the hanger.   
  
~~~  
  
Hours later, after an impressively short debrief, an awkwardly silent dinner and another disappearing act from Keith, Shiro is woken up from a restless sleep by an even more restless lion shoving her way into his brain. She’s purring loudly and incessantly, the way she does when she has no plans to stop until she gets what she wants. After all attempts to push her presence out of his mind fail, he resigns himself to yet another late night trip to the hanger.  
  
The walk there is as creepy as ever, his footsteps echoing down hollow hallways, the dull lamps on the walls barely giving off enough light to see by. It’s a relief when he reaches Black’s brightly lit hanger, until he hears someone else talking to his lion and all the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.   
  
He feels ridiculous the moment he sticks his head in the door and realizes that it’s just Coran.   
  
“Ah number one! What has you out of bed at this hour?” The Altean is perched on a stool next to one of Black’s massive paws, poking at the wiring exposed by the panel he has open in front of him. Shiro heads towards him, taking a moment to place his flesh hand on the tip of Black’s claw, letting her purring rush through him with a hum that rattles his bones.   
  
“Black wanted to talk.” Coran nods without looking away from the circuit he’s working on.   
  
“She’s worried about you.” A click, and one of the wires in his hands begins glowing. “We all are Shiro. You’ve been acting differently lately.” The remaining hardware in is hand flares to life, the soft glow illuminating his face for a scant moment before he slides the panel shut. “You and Keith. I won’t force you to tell me what happened, but it’s clear that something did.”  
  
Shiro looks away from the hand that’s resting on his lion, down to the one they attached to him against his will. “I remembered something.” he pauses, takes a deep breath. “Something that happened while I was a prisoner. Keith thinks it’s his fault, but-“  
  
“But you blame yourself.” Shiro jerks  his head up, a question forming on his lips before he sees the look on Coran’s face, guilt and regret and recollection all rolled into one. He feels his lips pull into a tight line as he nods and his gaze falls back to his right hand.   
  
“What happened that day in the ring, the reason I lost the fight- I forgot him. I _forced myself_ to forget him. I promised him that I would come home, and when I finally did I didn’t even remember him.”  
  
Shiro turns, sinking to the floor with his back against Black’s paw, and tipping his head back to look at Coran. The older Altean is standing now, gathering his tools to leave. He gazes up at the Black Lion, eyes sad, and turns back to Shiro.   
  
“I can’t tell you what to do Shiro, but do something. It sounds like you’ve both been through too much to give up on each other now.” Coran walks out, his advice haunting the air of the hanger.   
  
Shiro closes his eyes, rests his head against the warm metal of his Lion and falls asleep to the humming in his head.   
  
~~~  
  
Keith’s still avoiding him, just like he was the week before Shiro first remembered him.   
  
This time Allura doesn't get the chance to step in before it all falls apart on its own.   
  
~~~  
  
"Form Voltron!"  
  
It's the end of the battle and there's only one ship left to take care of, a massive cargo vessel outfitted with a thick metal plating that will probably require Voltron’s sword. They’re falling into formation before he’s even finishes speaking.   
  
Shiro says the words and then they're coming together. Ten minds in one body, mental links forming solidly, synchronizing perfectly, humming with the musical edge that heralds the merge. It's working, they're ready, just waiting for the final piece to lock in-   
  
But he doesn't.   
  
Instead the memories flood his mind, seeping through the bonds so everyone can see them. The chair, the druids, the arena, the arm. The cold, desolate, emptiness- there's nothing there where did it go where did the light go it shouldn't be gone where did it go-  
  
They all screech to a stop, trying to pull their minds back into themselves as grief and guilt floods the bonds that flow between Paladins and Lions and Paladins and then-  
  
For the first time ever Shiro is the one dropping out of alignment.   
  
With the Black Paladin missing,  
Voltron falls apart.   
  
~~~  
  
The Lions separate with a burst of energy, and even though Shiro can see the others just outside his view window he can't feel them at all.   
  
The Castle swoops in, shooting out the ship’s final engine as it attempts to limp away and opening the hangar doors. Shiro’s hands shake as they wrap around the joystick, guiding Black in.   
  
It's the bumpiest landing he's had in years.   
  
~~~  
  
Shiro takes twice as long as usual to get to the locker room, but everyone's still there when he arrives, each of them at a different stage of removing their armor. Keith is the farthest along, arm guards next to him on the bench he's sitting on as he works off the bulky chest plate.   
  
Shiro had pulled his off on the way, a vain attempt at to distract himself from the twisting of his stomach and the pounding starting up behind his eyes. He gently sets the armor down in his open locker and peels off his gloves.  
  
With the arm suddenly in view he freezes. The others, who have been pretending they’re not watching him out of the corners of their eyes, do the same.   
  
Slowly, Shiro turns so he can face the room and lets his back slump against the wall of lockers. The silence swells as he wrestles with apologies that want to spill from his lips, the one that reveals the least about how not okay he is right now already forming in his throat.   
  
He doesn’t get the chance to say it.   
  
Just as Shiro opens his mouth to speak Keith throws his chest plate to the ground with a crash that makes everyone else jump, but he doesn’t even blink at the noise. When he stands up, he’s rage incarnate, stomping over to Shiro as his words swell to fill the empty air space. "No. You know what? I'm sick of this."   
  
The other are paladins stiff with the shock of the sudden mood shift as Keith’s armored footsteps ring out against the floor. When Keith reaches Shiro he doesn't hesitate, just claps a hand on either side of Shiro's face, palms cupping his jaw as Keith pulls him down to look him straight in the eyes. "It wasn't your fault."   
  
Immediately Shiro has a protest on the tip of his tongue, but Keith refuses to let him get a word in edgewise. "No. Shut up.” His eyes are fire, and there’s a wildness to them that Shiro’s only ever seen when Keith was behind the controls of something that could break the sound barrier. “It wasn't your fault. And you know what? It wasn't my fault either. Do you want to know whose fault it was?"   
  
Shiro's doesn't even get the chance to consider a reply before Keith is plowing on. "It was Zarkon's fault. And it was Sendak's fault. And it was the guard's fault and the spectator's fault and everyone else who sat there and watched you suffer. It was Haggar's fault for deciding you needed a new arm when you lost a fight, and it was the scientist's fault for listening to her. We can blame them. But we’re not going to blame ourselves anymore.”   
  
Keith takes a deep breath, leaning their foreheads together until they touch. This time when he speaks his words are soft. “I got you back from them. I got you back, and that means they don’t get to keep any part of you. They don’t get to control anything about you ever again, especially not what you think about yourself. Got it?”   
  
Stunned by the outburst, Shiro can only nod meekly in response. The smile he gets in reply is brighter than every star in the universe. "Good. Now come here you big lug." Keith pulls Shiro down to rest his forehead on his collarbone, bracing himself to take the weight as Shiro automatically leans into him, arms curling around Keith’s waist and pulling him closer. It's become a favorite position of theirs and it's exactly what he needs right now: a solid dose of reassurance that they're both still here and that everything will be okay.   
  
The silence is quickly ruined by Lance opening his mouth. "Wow, I don't think I've ever heard you say that much in one go Keith. You sure you're feeling okay?"  
  
"Lance!" Lance startles as his name echoes, Hunk's naturally loud voice booming even more than usual in the tiled room.  
  
For a moment nothing happens.   
  
Then Pidge lets loose the most horrendous cackle Shiro's ever heard, and suddenly all of them are breaking down.    
  
Shiro pushes his face into Keith's neck and laughs, joy and love and relief all jockeying each other for control of his emotional state. In his arms Keith does the same, giggling into Shiro's shoulder so hard that he snorts.   
  
It's something that Shiro hasn't heard in a long, long time.   
  
It's something that sounds an awful lot like home.

**Author's Note:**

> The final confrontation happening in the locker room may or may not have been inspired by the mental image of Sheith in the black jumpsuits with only the leg armor on gently resting their foreheads together and smiling. I will admit to nothing. 
> 
>  
> 
> Remember, comments give me great ideas and I cherish every single one of them!


End file.
